


Of Delusions, Apologies, and the Irritation In Between

by SilverTonguedSlytherin1



Series: Letters to and from an International Fugitive [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: BAMF Tony Stark, Civil War Team Iron Man, Gen, Not Steve Friendly, Not Steve Rogers Friendly, Not Team Captain America Friendly, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Pro-Sokovia Accords, Steve's Letter to Tony Post-Civil War (Movie), Team Iron Man, Team Tony, Tony Stark is not a doormat, not team Cap friendly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:48:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23742556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverTonguedSlytherin1/pseuds/SilverTonguedSlytherin1
Summary: Steve Rogers sent Tony Stark a letter. The response Tony wrote is almost certainly not what he was expecting.
Series: Letters to and from an International Fugitive [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1710490
Comments: 51
Kudos: 1023
Collections: Tony Stark Defense Squad I, superhero tingz





	Of Delusions, Apologies, and the Irritation In Between

Tony sits down at his desk with the letter Rogers had sent a week ago and thinks. He's been debating whether or not he should reply, but even if he doesn't send it, writing it will be cathartic, he thinks. He opens a note on his StarkPad, then closes it. This response needs to be written. He fishes out a fountain pen and a few sheets of his finest parchment from one of his desk drawers. 

Instead of his usual engineer scrawl, barely legible even if not for the mixture of English, Italian, and German - and shorthand for all three - he writes in the swirling cursive that screams "born with a silver spoon." He rarely uses it, but it seems important right now. Maybe he's showing how well off he is without the Rogues (both financially and in other ways). He writes:

_Rogers,_

_The New York mansion hasn't been lived in since 1991, and the Malibu mansion is somewhere at the bottom of the Pacific, so what mansion you are alluding to escapes me. Yes, I am currently residing at the Compound, due to the fact that it's medical facilities are state of the art, it is removed from the innate chaos of the city, and Stark Tower is being rennovated. Rhodey and I require the former two during our recovery. However, the Tower should be rennovated before we are fully healed, so as soon as we are ready, I will be returning to my home in the penthouse with Pepper._

_Having been an orphan since I was seventeen, I fully understand the loneliness of losing one's biological family and the importance of finding and creating one's own. You are right that the Avengers are my family; I am lucky to have Pepper, Rhodey, Happy, the Spiderling, Vision, and my bots. They deserve me at my best for staying by my side at my worst. That is what family is, isn't it?_

_Once upon a time, my faith was in people. After I discovered Stane's betrayal, after my own godfather tried to kill me, I lost that faith. So far, every time I have regained part of it, it has been shattered._

_Now my faith belongs to ideas. Concepts can be twisted, but that is the action of a person or people. An idea can not choose to betray you, after all._

_Your statement regarding locks confuses me. Do you mean to imply that we should not lock ourselves into a particular mindset? If that is the case, then let me assure you that as a businessman, I am used to hearing arguments contrary to my own, and as an engineer, I try to always keep an open-mind. I would also like to remind you that an unwillingness to change one's beliefs does not mean they did not listen or understand the other side. It simply means the arguments were not compelling._

_Indeed, you did spare yourself a lot of pain by not telling me about my parents' murder. You spared yourself the trouble of trying to finance the search for their killer. You spared yourself the legal nightmare that is aiding and abetting a terrorist organization by covering up their crimes. You spared yourself the embarassment of looking at the son of the man who wasted years of his life searching for you and telling his son that you cared more about finding and rehabilitating his killer, about shielding him from consequences than you did the fact that your friend's son spent decades hating his father because he though the man had killed his mom._

_Save your apologies. I understand your motivations fully, and they make me sick. Between you and Stane, Howard is probably going to dig his way of his grave due to the betrayal. It seems I inherited his inability to read people._

_This fight was never about the Accords, Rogers. Don't kid yourself; you only ever cared about helping Barnes. The only reason you are upset about the fact that we disagree on the Sokovian Accords is because you wish you had my resources behind you. Regardless, they are still progressing. Ross' arrest has made it easier to amend many of the harsher aspects, and King T'Challa's withdrawal from the public has pushed his crimes out of mind, evening out the work his father, the late King T'Chaka, put into the Accords._

_You are right in one thing, however. I was fighting for what I believe in, and I will continue to fight for it. Ever since my return from Afghanistan, I have fought to be out of a zero-accountability system. Unchecked power and authority are never good things because few people ever take any action they truly find wrong._

_I will apologize to you now. I am sorry I let you go unchecked for so long that the idea of basic checks and balances seems unreasonable. After SHIELD's fall, I paid the way and didn't ask any questions. Instead of smoothing issues after-the-fact, I should have contacted the CIA or FBI or the Secretary of Defense and worked out a legitimate arrangement for the team. As such, I am sorry for enabling you, Rogers._

_I will not say I will not need you, but the only reason I would ever is one for which you have mocked me, so don't stay up waiting for a call._

_Thank you. Fuck you. Bye._

  
Yes, this will work, Tony thinks, as he folds the letter into a heavy envelope. He addresses the letter to Mr. S. Rogers at the Royal Palace of Wakanda and laughs when he envisions the Rogue's faces. He'll give the Spiderling the phone to cannibalize; the kid always seems to need parts for something. Or maybe he'll let Pepper take a sledge hammer to it?...

**Author's Note:**

> "Thank you. Fuck you. Bye." is the signature goodbye of Jim Cornette, an infamous fellow in professional wrestling (and a really good story teller, if you're interested in road stories). 
> 
> I just want to point out that I am following the Iron Man 1 timeline wherein Howard and Maria died when Tony was 17. I know many people prefer to use the later version where they died when he was 21, but I always think of him being 17. Sorry if anyone was confused/thought I was making things up. :)
> 
> I also want to point out that anonymous commenter who used the name Elle has said that the U.S. Army has said they would owe Rogers backpay. That may be so, however, it's never stated in canon. Also, several other fans with knowledge of the military contest Rogers' status as a soldier, much less a Captain, so there's that. After all, in real life, the Captain America character was essentially started as a propaganda piece, so I doubt that the Army would want to say, "Hey, he wouldn't actually be a soldier at all."   
> Also, to Elle, I apologize for deleting your comment. I was intending to edit my own and accidentally did so. 
> 
> The comments on this fic are moderated because I've seen how trolls and members of Team Cap have treated others, and I don't have the patience to deal with it. However, please know that I do plan to approve comments that are not hate/trolling, even if they are critical. Thank you for understanding. :)


End file.
